美国数据中心年用水量激增至170亿加仑

美国国会研究服务报告显示，2023年美国数据中心用水量估计达170亿加仑，约为2014年的三倍 1。其中，发电相关的间接用水占数据中心总用水足迹的80%以上，直接用水（如设备冷却）仅占美国总用水量的约2% 1。此外，97%的美国数据中心用水来自市政供水系统 1。

随着生成式AI需求激增，高密度硬件部署推高了电力和冷却用水需求，而联邦层面缺乏统一的数据追踪机制，导致水资源分配争议和立法进展缓慢 1。在具体项目方面，加州一个拟建的330兆瓦数据中心寻求从休耕农田获取2.87亿加仑水 1。Data Center Water Leaks统计显示，36个州议会中有数据中心水资源相关立法 1。美国联邦层面有20项相关法案（众议院14项、参议院6项），仅3项超出转介阶段 1。相比之下，欧盟近期立法要求数据中心运营商报告年度淡水消耗量 1。

A recent report by the Congressional Research Service reveals that US data centers consumed an estimated 17 billion gallons of water in 2023, approximately three times their usage in 2014 1. The vast majority of this water footprint, over 80%, stems from indirect water use associated with power generation 1. Meanwhile, direct water consumption for activities such as equipment cooling accounts for only about 2% of total US water usage 1. Furthermore, 97% of the water utilized by American data centers is sourced from municipal water systems 1.

The surge in generative AI demand and high-density hardware deployment has increased power and cooling water requirements 1. However, the lack of unified data tracking mechanisms at the federal level has led to water resource allocation disputes and slow legislative progress 1. For instance, a proposed 330-megawatt data center in California is seeking to acquire 287 million gallons of water from fallowed farmland 1. According to statistics from Data Center Water Leaks, 36 state legislatures currently have water-related legislation concerning data centers 1. At the federal level, there are 20 related bills, with 14 in the House of Representatives and 6 in the Senate, though only three have advanced beyond the referral stage 1. In contrast, the European Union has recently enacted legislation requiring data center operators to report their annual freshwater consumption 1.